The lives of binary and multiple stars are reviewed, beginning with their cradles in dark clouds, such as those in Taurus and Orion, and ending with the high-energy infernos of supernova explosions and bright X-ray binaries. It has become clear that there is a common thread that runs through all of our understanding of binary evolution: the set of physical processes which they each undergo at various stages of their evolution. This volume provides an up- to-date review of binary stellar structure and evolution from this perspective, considering these processes not just from the point of view of understanding the basic physics involved, but also with